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‘Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.’ ()

Having established (in Part 1) that the Kingdom is to be the priority of all people lets look at why.

The simple truth is that God has always existed and His was the original throne.

This simply means that out of all contenders (whether demonic, human, or idols) He is the only one who has the right to reign and the power to rule. His throne was established in the everlasting of eternity past and has always been. All that exists, whether it is the inorganic wonders of the starry host; the spiritual mysteries that are the angelic armies; or all of created life itself… has its source in Him. We are guests in His universe but not unwanted! We were created to bear the image of the King and represent His Kingdom on this earth .

In giving us rulership of the earthly realm, God was inviting us to reproduce the reality of His heavenly realm here on earth. This was only possible because Adam and Eve first had God’s rule internally operating within them. With the disastrous choice to disobey their creator, Adam and Eve decided that they could rule without any reference to the God who sat on the throne.

DEATH! Not a pleasant consequence of Sin but entirely justified. When Adam and Eve decided to live apart from the rule of God… they also became disentangled from the Life that flows from his Throne.

‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne’ ().

No one like this idea of death being the ‘wages of sin’ (). However, when we understand that His throne is established on righteousness and justice, sin becomes apparent for what it is… an assault on a sovereign throne. We have one word for this… Treason! In many countries treason is still the one crime that warrants the death penalty.

When Jesus came preaching the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom, His call to repentance was not just a call to submit to God’s rule once again… it was also the call to submit to our original identity as God’s children () and the commission of our original mandate: To exercise His rule and reign over the created order. All of creation is waiting for us to stop playing the game of thrones and actually start ruling on His behalf ().

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them. (ESV)

Not only did these words inaugurate Jesus’ public ministry , but they also signalled a radical shift in the ages. The long-awaited moment when God’s increasing government and peace could be accessed and experienced, was now within reach… if you made the radical 180 degree turn known as repentance.

That was Jesus’ good news… the ‘gospel’ of the Kingdom. I want you to just think about that for a moment…

The ‘good news’ that Jesus proclaimed and practiced indicated the incursion of the Kingdom of God into a fallen and dark world… Sure Jesus came to seek and save the lost, but His purpose in this act was so that the lost could enter the Kingdom. And that is the problem! The church has somehow managed to lose the end (the Kingdom) in the means (salvation). Jesus clearly differentiated the means from the end yet we so often confuse them.

Let’s consider the Israelites. Paul clearly paints them as an example for us in matters of faith . Their story in the natural is an example for us in the spiritual. We can see clearly from their story that they were saved from the misery of slavery in Egypt to the joyous liberty of life in the promised land. Note that! They were saved from something and they were saved to something. The sad truth is that much ‘gospel’ preaching revolves around purely being saved from something. Hell, fire, darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth!

This kind of fire insurance ‘gospel of salvation’ preaching, more often than not produces miserable, disengaged, ‘eternal ticket’ holders who sit on their ‘blessed assurance’ waiting for the first flight out of here. That, my friends, is far less than Jesus paid for.

The simple reason for this series (Kingdom 101) is to cause a a kingdom collision in our thinking and consequently a radical turnaround in our living.

My starting point is simple… We should have one priority: The Kingdom of God.

Now the principle of ‘the Kingdom’ as the key interpretive thread of the Bible is not intended to somehow denigrate the centrality of Jesus in Christian thought or doctrine. The King cannot be separated from His Kingdom; for the word ‘kingdom’ simply means a domain where a king exercises his rule and reign. The Kingdom of God is the domain marked by His presence, power and principles at work in synergy with His perfect will. To make it simple, the Kingdom is the King in action. For us as His people then the Kingdom should be ultimate desire of our hearts; the key to our experience, the heart of our message, the DNA of our prayers and the defining marker of our walk. If you are still not sure check these passages out!

The Kingdom was Jesus’ message in His preaching and His parables

The Holy Spirit ministry of Jesus was proof of a ‘Kingdom now’ incursion

The Kingdom was the very purpose and sphere for which people must be born again

The Kingdom is to be the first priority of life

The Kingdom is the mother of all legitimate prayers

Preaching the ‘gospel of the Kingdom’ will usher the return of Christ

The inheritance for those who will be rewarded by Christ will be the Kingdom in all its fullness

Beloved your salvation is a precious thing. Firstly, because it is to His glory that you are saved. Secondly, because of who took the initiative to save you when you were His enemy. Thirdly, because of what it cost Him. . However, He is most glorified when we walk in reality of all he unlocked for us at the cross… a realm where His presence, power and principles work in perfect synergy with His will.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peacethere will be no end,on the throne of David and over his kingdom,to establish it and to uphold itwith justice and with righteousnessfrom this time forth and forevermore.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (ESV)

25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (ESV)

2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (ESV)